….today, this very moment. Lets do something, take some action, make a change, make things better. Sign a petition, share a page, talk about an issue, do something kind. Take 5 minutes and make a real difference in the world. You can make a change, you can make a difference, with one action.

Narla was horrifically beaten by thug Craig McKinley in a shocking video footage that went viral on Facebook.

As an animal lover, who owns a dog just like Narla, I found the story highly upsetting. What shocked me is that these abusers and others like them will be able to own an animal again one day. There’s nothing to prevent them doing this again. Continue reading →

I was deeply saddened to read today of the death of of a young boy last November, which could have easily been prevented. I was also shocked to learn that public transport staff in the UK do not receive basic first aid training. They work with hundreds, if not thousands, of members of the public every single day – yet if you were unlucky enough to have a heart attack, epileptic fit or some other medical emergency, they wouldn’t be trained enough to help you. Please read and then sign the petition, written by the mother of Christopher, who died last November, and see what changes she wants to see so this never happens to another child.Continue reading →

Saudi Arabia is currently the UK’s largest arms export market. It is a nonsense to claim, as ministers do, that this military cooperation is about nothing more than the Saudis’ right to self-defence. The reason we do not arm Iran, Syria or North Korea is that arms sales are inescapably an expression of political support and commitment to regime survival.

I only post petitions here that I would sign, that I fully agree with and support wholeheartedly.

Sometimes a petition comes along that makes my heart sink, a petition that I really wish was not necessary in the first place, and this is one.

Dogs are one of the most loving, loyal and kind-hearted creatures on the planet. If you own a dog, I would hope its because you love dogs, and your dog is part of your family. SO it seems inherently cruel and irresponsible to put a dog in a crate on a towbar – on the back of your car – for a journey. Continue reading →

As you may know, I launched a petition a few weeks ago regarding a scheme in which GP’s are rewarded for diagnosing certain conditions over others. It’s an unethical, immoral and unsafe practice – encouraging doctors financially to diagnose one condition over another can only lead to misdiagnosis, ill health and potential deaths. Most people aren’t even aware of this system.

I put a Freedom of Information request to the government which stated ““Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like you to provide me with information on any and all schemes which financially reward any medical staff/departments/GP practices for testing, diagnosing or treating certain conditions, and any and all schemes which fine any medical staff/departments/GP practices for testing, diagnosing or treating any conditions.”

I have now received a reply, this is it:

Dear Ms Milligan,

Thank you for your request of 20th December 2015 under the Freedom of Information Act (2000). I can confirm that the Department holds some information relevant to your request. However, as the information held by the Department is in the public domain, we will under Section 21 of the FOI Act (information accessible to the applicant by other means) refer you to the published source.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is a voluntary incentive scheme for GP practices in the UK. The QOF rewards contractors for the provision of quality care and helps to standardise improvements in the delivery of primary medical services. The QOF contains groups of indicators, against which practices score points according to their level of achievement. Practices aim to deliver high quality care across a range of areas, for which they score points. The higher the score, the higher the financial reward for the practice. The final payment is adjusted to take account of the practice list size and disease prevalence. The results are published annually and the indicators are reviewed, with some being retired and new ones added. Details of the indicators and the performance of participating practices can be found on the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s website at http://www.hscic.gov.uk/qof.

You may also wish to contact NHS England, who may hold information relevant to your request. Details on how to request information from NHS England under the Freedom of Information Act (2000) is available at: http://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/foi.

I will be sending a request direct to NHS England also, with the same request for information, I will let you know what their response is.

I find it so wrong that the very people who spend so many years training to save lives, would wish to be part of a scheme which is so dangerous. The claim is that this scheme will enourage GPs to better treat their patients and improve overall health but how can this be so? If a patient comes in with ten symptoms and is immediately judged by the fact they look overweight, how can that help them? They could have any one of a million medical conditions, but the immediate diagnosis is ‘overweight’. Which conveniently nets the GP £160. I myself was diagnosed as overweight, diabetic and depressed – a nice payment of £480 to the GPs – and I am not any of those things, I actually have an entirely unconnected medical condition! And I know of many other people who have been misdiagnosed in the same way.

This system is seriously flawed, and leaves patients at risk of health complications, further illness or injury, or death.

So please sign this petition, and share it on all your social networks, email to your colleagues, friends and family. Let’s get this system reviewed and overhauled – let’s make sure that if there has to be an incentive for GP’s to treat us, that the incentive is to make us well, and not for their own financial gain.

Unfortunately I haven’t posted for a while, as I have been quite ill, but during this time something I was previously unaware of has come to light. I sign and post a lot of petitions, as you know, but this is the first time I have felt so strongly about something I have felt the need to start my own petition. Please read and sign the petition if you are in the UK, and share it widely. Thank you in advance for your support.

Most people are completely unaware that their GP will receive financial rewards for meeting targets of diagnosing certain conditions – a bonus of £160.15 in 2015/16. While rewarding GP practices for doing a good job and helping patients is of course a good thing, rewarding them financially to diagnose and treat certain conditions over others is wrong.

The official text of this scheme is : The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is the annual reward and incentive programme detailing GP practice achievement results. It rewards practices for the provision of quality care and helps standardise improvement in the delivery of primary medical services (source: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/qof).

I have spoken to many people who have seen their GP with serious medical conditions, only to be told they are depressed or overweight – both of these conditions merits the above award – and offered anti-depressants or a referral to a dietician. Offering anti-depressants to someone who is not depressed is dangerous in itself, but labelling someone as depressed instead of treating their serious illness is tantamount to neglect, and could cost lives.

This system is seriously flawed, and needs to be reviewed urgently. Since I launched the above petition, I have had many emails about other NHS financial reward schemes, with bonuses ranging from tens of pounds to thousands of pounds. I have submitted a Freedom of Information Act to the Department for Health asking for information on any and all financial reward schemes – I will post the information here when I receive it.

People in the UK pay taxes their whole life towards the NHS, and when they turn to it in need of medical help they shouldnt be worried that the medical professionals aren’t acting in their best interests.

China continues to use dog fur and intentionally mislables the product as “racoon” fur. The racoon dog, is in fact part of the dog family- not the racoon family. They are farmed in China to feed the fur industry and suffer cruel and barbaric conditions- with their lives often ending as they beaten and skinned alive.

Sometimes its a bit confusing as to who to contact about what, or where to find that information, so I thought I would jot down a few useful contacts (for me, as much as anyone else!) for anyone who needs to campaign about something. Continue reading →

So far I have welcomed

4,285 visitors to my site to view, sign and share over 200 petitions. A huge welcome to each and every one of you, thank you for visiting today. Please note that some topics may be upsetting. Also note that I post petitions as and when, so if you subscribe you may receive sporadic updates with many posts on one day or none on another!